REMEMBERING USA NETWORK’S NIGHT FLIGHT (1981-1988):

While the rest of mankind uses A.D. and B.C. to divide history, I prefer to use BNF and ANF – before and after Night Flight.

Okay, not really. But it was an important show – it introduced a variety of music and movies that would otherwise have gone completely beneath the radar for most Americans. Created by Stuart Shapiro, Night Flight was a beautiful thing, running on the USA Network between 11pm and 7am every Friday and Saturday night. The show was four hours long, broadcasting til 3am before repeating in full.

It played an interesting variety of music videos, generally punk or new wave (although, reggae and more mainstream music were often featured). This was intermixed with wonderfully eclectic clips: everything from Cold War Era footage to stand up comedy.

I watched Night Flight pretty religiously for moments like this early ‘80s jam session featuring Les Paul, Jeff Beck, and Billy Squier.